


Echoes

by PhilistiniPhagottini



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Family, Gen, Light Angst, Mentioned Vergil (Devil May Cry), Originally Posted on Tumblr, Reader is Nero's mother, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:08:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24552133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhilistiniPhagottini/pseuds/PhilistiniPhagottini
Summary: Your past comes knocking, looking for answers
Kudos: 48





	Echoes

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request I received from Tumblr. I was asked to write a short little fic about Nero being reunited with his mother, who is the reader. I enjoyed the challenge and it was fun to write. If you wanna request anything, head over to my Tumblr. I can be found under the same name over there. Anyways, I hope you enjoy.

When you opened your front door this morning, you weren't expecting to see someone waiting for you. You were in a bit of a rush when you wrenched the door open, hoping that you weren’t running late. You almost ran straight into the man, causing him to take a few precarious steps back. You caught yourself before barrelling straight into him, your hand latching onto the door handle before your momentum could keep carrying you forward.

"Sorry" you apologised. "Didn't see you there."

He visibly tensed at your words, shoulders hunched and back as straight as a board. You bounced on your heels trying to slip past yet he blocked your path. Realising he must need something you continued to speak. 

"Can I help you?"

You took a moment to pause in your rush to get a proper look at the stranger. By his looks he was only a young man, probably only in his early twenties if you had to guess. His attire gave off the vibe that he was a troublemaker and he may have intimidated you if his hood had been flipped up. But getting a good look at his face made you think that he was a nice young man.

You studied his face a bit more, your eyes slowly growing wider as you stared at him. His hair was as pure and white as snow, swept back off his face in a faux hawk style. Striking ice blue eyes gazed into your own and it made your soul quiver. Your eyes were wide with disbelief, your mouth slowly opening as your jaw unhinged. Realisation slowly started to creep in. You sucked in a sharp breath, a name falling from your trembling lips.

"Vergil."

The grip you had on your doorknob tightened, knuckles turning white from your iron clad grip. You blinked rapidly with surprise shaking your head to try and suppress the old memory. No, he wasn't Vergil. He held a faint resemblance to the man you once knew.

He slowly shook his head, confirming that he wasn't Vergil. Instead of feeling relief, dread settled into the pit of your stomach. There was only one other possible explanation. Your mind spun as your hands started to tremble. Suddenly, you forgot why you were in such a rush this morning. Nothing seemed more important than this one, single moment in time. You wanted to move, to say something but your body refused to obey. Your tongue felt like lead and you had a horrible taste lingering in your mouth every time you swallowed around the lump in your throat. You were rooted to the spot, heart pounding in your ears and a terrible burn inside your chest. You were frozen from shock.

The moment Nero had laid his eyes on you, he knew. Something deep inside himself told him that the woman standing before him was his mother. Even though he couldn’t even remember your face or the sound of your voice, he just knew you were the one. After two decades of searching, he finally found his mother. A cacophony of emotions hit him at once that his knees almost buckled from the pressure. So many questions swirled around his head, making the anxious knot in the pit of his stomach grow tight. Nero had been starved from his mother's affection all of his life. He had practiced what he would say to you a hundred times over in his head. When he was younger, it was all he could think about. He hated you for abandoning him, leaving him all alone while you ran away. What mother would abandon their newborn? Growing up, kids teased him for it. They bullied him, calling his mother a prostitute and labelling Nero as a bastard child that no one wanted. It had filled him with so much grief and rage in his youth. He grew up believing that neither of his parents ever loved him.

Now that you were in standing here in front of him, he didn't know what he felt. Sure, the resentment was still there even if he had buried the feelings long ago as he got older. But he had been relieved when he found out you were alive. He was happy that you looked healthy. Yet he was confused and sad. He had so many unanswered questions that it caused him to feel frustrated when a single word refused to leave his mouth. It was a concoction of severely different emotions that Nero felt unsteady on his feet.

Finding his father had nothing on finding his mother. He had come to terms with Vergil being his father very quickly. Sure, he was shocked when he learned about his family. It had been easy to work out his frustrations when he used his father as a punching bag. It was a Sparda thing. 

But now, he wasn't sure what he was going to do. When he had shown up on your doorstep he had hesitated. There had been a brief moment where fear had drenched his body. He was terrified that the moment you laid your eyes on him, you would simply just leave again. Before he could even consider scampering away, you almost ran straight into him.

Nero tried to clear the raging sea of thoughts inside his head. He took a deep and shaky breath, trying to steel his resolve. 

"I'm Nero" he spoke softly. 

You knew one day that you would have to face the demons of your past. Even knowing that, it still felt like you weren't prepared. The torrent of emotions that hit you already had tears gathering in the corners of your eyes as they tried to escape. The emotions, fears and anxiety you had repressed for so long threatened to consume you all because he had spoken his name. A name you hadn't uttered in years. A name that was etched into your heart. You would never forget the name of your baby boy. The name of the boy you had given up. You still regret the decision to this day.

You didn't know what you were doing back then. The nightmares still haunt you. You were a young and single mother with a newborn and no father. You were incompetent as an adult. You were barely even one to begin with. How were you going to raise a child all by yourself? You couldn’t handle that responsibility. You thought you were doing right by him, by giving him a better chance at life.

Would Nero ever forgive you for abandoning him? You weren't expecting it. You had been a horrible person and a horrendous mother. You didn't deserve his forgiveness. You swallowed the hard knot in your throat, almost choking on it as you spoke. 

"How?"

You meant to say more yet you couldn't force any more words out. You needed to know how he found you. Why did he find you? Did he know his father? Did he know what his father was? You started to feel nauseous. If your thoughts kept spiralling out of control like this you were going to be sick. Nero took a moment to consider his words before he replied. He figured he would start somewhere at the beginning.

"I’ve been searching for you for a while. It didn’t really get anywhere until I came to the mainland. I left Fortuna, if you couldn't already tell."

He rubbed the back of his head, a bad habit he had picked up when he was nervous. His lips tilted at the corners as he let out a pathetic soft chuckle, desperately trying to push this crushing weight off his chest. Seeing Nero's tiny smile also put you a little at ease. It was nice to see he didn't have his father's sense of humour. 

"I tried really hard, but I couldn't find you" Nero continued. "It's like you dropped off the face of the earth."

That was the point. You wanted to say it but kept your mouth shut and waited for Nero to continue.

"Then before I found you, I had a run in with...Vergil."

Saying Dad still felt weird. Nero didn't know if he could ever get used to it. Hearing Vergil's name again sent a cold shiver down your spine. Ah so he was alive too? You had your suspicions but nothing ever confirmed it. It was just simply a feeling you had. In the brief time that you knew Vergil, you knew exactly what type of man he was. You shook your head, trying to get rid of those particular memories before they came rushing back. That trauma could be saved for another day. You were more focused on your long-lost son. 

"Vergil refused to speak at length about you" Nero said. "Kind of pissed me right off that he brushed the subject aside."

He flinched when he realised he swore in front of you. He usually had Kyrie to gently reprimand him when he would casually let foul words slip off his tongue. This time he had caught it himself. He was going to blame that one on spending too much time around Nico.

"Excuse the bad language."

You wouldn't care even if he started using words that would even make a sailor blush. You were too invested in his explanation and you needed him to continue. His eyes flicked back to your face, noting the expression settled on your features. You looked like you were going to pass out on him at any moment. 

"Do you need to sit down?"

You immediately shook your head. You didn't know if you could move. You were frozen to the spot and you feared that if you took even one step you'd fall to the ground. 

"Please, continue" you croaked, voice on the verge of breaking.

Nero nodded as he went back to recounting his tale.

"Right. So, a few days ago I got a call from Dante. He had been doing some digging and he told me that he found you. He gave me your address and well...here I am."

Silence followed. You took a moment to mull over Nero's words. You had a few questions yourself like who the hell was Dante? Did you know him? Did he know Vergil? There was a lot you didn't know about Vergil. He kept his past shrouded in mystery. It had been such a long time ago that you don't recall him ever mentioning it. 

The silence was slowly starting to kill Nero. He was used to such a fast paced, adrenaline fuelled life that when things started to go quiet, he would get a little anxious. He always kept himself busy with different hobbies to stave it off. But he really did hate this silence. Why weren't you speaking? Did you have nothing to say? If you weren't going to speak, Nero was going to move this conversation forward. 

"Why did you leave me?"

The question felt like a punch to the gut. You had been dreading that one question the moment you realised who he was. Your eyes started to sting as tears slowly creeped down your face. Your heart ached hearing the gentle warble in his voice as he tried to keep the words from spilling from his mouth. This was obviously just as hard for him as it was for you. It took courage for Nero to come and find you. Courage that you obviously felt you lacked. He came looking for you, not knowing what he would possibly find when he did. He was looking for answers to the questions that have been plaguing him all his life. Answers that only you could provide. 

You finally found the strength to move, forcing your body to move away from the door. You were inviting Nero to come into your house. You needed to answer his questions, no matter how much it was going to hurt. He deserved to know the truth, even if he ended up hating you for it.

"Come in. You deserve an explanation."


End file.
